>> suarez: thank you for joining unemployment map. the more red the worse off folks us. >> it's a pleasure. are. you can see north carolina, thank you for everything you do. south carolina, pretty bad. >> suarez: book to you. >> it's definitely bad. >> we're listening to jessica it's higher than the national average in north carolina. sanchez an american idol winner 9.8%, particularly compared with and she's sing you're all i need virginia which is another to get by. battleground state lower than we'll listen for a minute. the national average right now ♪ at 6%. this say thing both campaigns are trying to use in an attempt to win over voters here. the economy is bad. it's been declining for many years in north carolina. a lot of the south has seen that both campaigns are trying to ♪ make the case. president obama is trying to say i'll create more jobs if i'm reelected and mitt romney is saying change course. >> reporter: we heard from a few folks on the listen to me project on what the most important issue was. here are voices from north carolina talking about jobs and economy. >> i think by far the most important issue is the economy. i think it with would turn around if there were more put your hands together! cooperation in washington. ♪ ♪ >> a lot of people don't have ♪ jobs and are losing their jobs

♪ and after being -- you know -- ♪ at jobs for years and they are shipping jobs overseas and everything like thank when we look at the unemployment -- everything like that. >> reporter: when we look at the map it's evenly distributed across the state. >> it's pretty bad every year. it's industries prevalent but declining over the last deck caismed when you look at the research try angle, technology companies moving in, people >> ifill: nothing like a moving from other states that's little dancinging on the floor of confession and an american one of areas where it's stronger. that's where the campaigns are idol participant to lead it. we're going to talk about the focusing energy because we have economy because it's playing a more affluent voters. major roll in the battleground >> reporter: let's look at states including north carolina. this map of how president obama and john mccain did in 2008. here we go to the digital map the red and orange and peach center. >> reporter: we're telling areas went for mccain. sortie of the elections through he won the state which made news data you can find. here to explain is our politics in itself. >> it was the first time a democrat had won since 1976 when editor. we look at the bigger picture of jobs in the economy which is jimmy carter was able to win it. issue number one. the president was able to win it by less than 15,000 votes.

here is the national one of the ways they did that was targeting african-american voters, many of them coming out for historical reasons, taking advantage of hispanic growth in the state which has become more prevalent over the last four years and getting college students to come out, register their friends and show up for the first time. that's similar to the strategy here. they are winning the big at cit, the research triangle area and doing that again. >> reporter: thank you. you can take a look at all this data yourself whether you are on the computer, tablet or even your smartphone at newshour.pbs.org. >> woodruff: san antonio mayor juliaaán castro delivered last night's keynote address. he is with us now. mr. mayor -- >> thank you for having me. >> woodruff: what kind of reaction have been been getting and what kind of reaction is your daughter getting? >> she stole the show for sure. [ laughter ]

you know, it's been generally positive. of course, there's always the back and forth of partisan politics but i've gotten a good reaction and can i finally enjoy the convention. because there's so much tension built up to actually deliver the speech and afterwards it's been a lot of fun to soak it all in and enjoy it. i enjoyed giving the speech. i think that last night was a very successful evening particularly because the first lady delivered a great speech. so happy. >> woodruff: you were her warm up. >> that's right. i was happy to play the warm-up act. >> ifill: you talked about clear choice. we heard speakers come back to that formulation, the clear choice between. barack and mitt romney. how -- -- between barack obama and mitt romney. >> my family got a good education because of things like good public schools, student loans. it's very clear that president obama has invested in what think

brother who is running for congress has called this infrastructure or opportunity or what i referred to in the speech as opportunity today. he wants to invest in that. we have a lot of folks in and san toneo who have big -- san antonio who have big dreams, they need student loans, good public schools, good universities, and president obama has made those investments and wants to make more. >> ifill: you and your brother are both rising stars, as we love to say in the clee -- cliches of democratic party. but we saw a lot of latinos at the republican convention. how do you make the case. the president has an edge among latino voters. how do you make the case that they should land with you and not consider another option? >> folks have asked about senator rubio or governor martinez or sandoval. i wish all of them well. the issue is not personalities,

whether it's me or them. the reason that president obama is up 70% to 25% are the policies on education, immigration reform, on tax policy, on health care health care for instance, nine million latinos will have health care because of the affordable care act. that's a big deal. people can tell the difference between a president on the right side of policies and a candidate who is not. >> woodruff: aren't latino disproportionately affected by this economy, high unemployment rate, the unemployment rate higher than it is for americans across the board? >> i think that's always true. for instance,, if you track latino unemployment against mainstream unemployment generally it's higher. so i think what we have to do in this case is track what has happened with latino unemployment. and the latino unemployment rate has actually dropped by two points under this president. he has made some progress.

>> what is the most significant law you would like to see if president obama get aids second term? >> well -- >> woodruff: we're going to ibt rupt. on the floor is the president of planned parenthood she is cecile richards. [cheers and applause] >> good evening. [cheers and applause] good evening. on behalf of the millions of mothers, daughters, wives, sisters and friends, republicans and democrats who have count on planned parenthood for health care and in honor of thousands of doctors and staff at planned parenthood health centers all across america, i am proud tonight to support the reelection of president barack obama. [cheers and applause] two years ago when paul ryan and

john boehner and todd akin and the tea party took over the house of representatives, they promised us they were going to create jobs and jumpstart the economy, but instead on day one they came after women's health and they haven't let up since. right? so first they voted to end cancer screenings and well women visits for five million women. they voted to end funding for birth control at planned parenthood and for good measure they even fried to redefine rape. [audience boos] and now mitt romney is campaigning to get rid of planned parenthood and overturn roe v. wade. [audience boos] and we won't let him! [cheers and applause] this past year women learned that when we aren't at the table, we're on the menu.

so this november women are organizing, we're mobilizing and voting for the leaders who fight for us. [cheers and applause] nearly 100 years ago when planned parenthood was founded, birth control was illegal. and as a result few women had the opportunity to finish school, and we really weren't even expected to live much past the age of 50. but times have changed. today we are mothers and we are teachers and scientists and accountants and members of the armed forces. [cheers and applause] and because of president obama more women than ever are serving until the u.s. cabinet and on the united states supreme court. [cheers and applause] we've come so far.

we've come so far. so why are we having to fight in 2012 against politicians who want to end access to birth control? it's like we woke up on a bad episaid of -- episode of "madmen." because when mitt romney says will get rid of planned parenthood and turn the clock back on a century of progress, it has real quoanses for the three million patients who commend demand on planned parenthood. women like libby bruce who you just heard from or brandy mckay, a 27-year-old woman whose stage two breast cancer was caught at a planned parenthood health center and thank god she's now cancer free. [cheers and applause] or the woman who went on facebook after paul ryan voted to defund planned parenthood and

posted, well, i guess they don't understand that us military wives go to planned patienthood when the doctor on base can't see us. [cheers and applause] so mr. romney and mr. ryan are campaigning for women's votes by saying that women need their help. okay. this is coming from two men who are committed to ended insurance coverage for birth control, who would turn women's health care decisions over to our bosses and who won't even stand up for equal pay for women. okay. as my grandmother back in texas would have said, any more help from mitt romney and i'm going to have to take in ironing. [cheers and applause] with you here is the good news. we already have a president on our side.

president obama -- president obama understands women. he trusts women and on every single issue that matters to us, he stands with women. [cheers and applause] president obama ensured that women's preventative care including birth control,, too will be covered by all health care plans with no copay no matter where we work. [cheers and applause] and because of president obama soon women won't be denied insurance coverage because we've had breast cancer or survived sexual assault. and we're no longer going to pay more than men for the exact same health insurance. [cheers and applause] thanks to president obama being a woman is no longer a preexisting condition in america

[cheers and applause] that's right. that's right. we know -- back in texas -- back in texas -- yay texas -- back in texas we say that we dance with them that brung ya. okay? president obama brought women to this dance and we're staying with him all the way to november. [cheers and applause] 24 years ago, my mother, former texas governor ann richards spoke to this convention. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause]

thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. [cheers and applause] reminded us -- she reminded us how far we've come and that there was a time when folks had to drink from separate water fountains, when kids were punished for speaking spanish in the school, when her grandmother couldn't even vote. my mom spent her entire life working to make things more fair. right? [cheers and applause]

she believed that the american dream wasn't meant for just a few, it promised opportunity for everyone. [cheers and applause] well, just a couple of years before she passed, mom had the chance to become friends with a young senator named barack obama. [cheers and applause] and she saw in him -- she saw in him the promise of the future and the promise of america. the promise of an america that always moves forward. that is the america we believe in. that's the future we'll be voting for this november. that's right. because as women -- as women we have come way too far to turn back. and we won't. [cheers and applause]

because, you know, mom wouldn't have stood for it and neither will we. so -- so this november we're going to keep moving forward and we're going to reelect president barack obama. thank you. thank you. >> ifill: cecile richards whose mother is, of course, ann richards. she passed away in 2006 and gave one of the most remembered speeches at any democratic national convention. mark? >> she sure did. one of great lines was ginger rogers did everything that fred astaire did and the only difference was she did it backwards and in high heels. a marvelous phrase maker and mr., mayor, if i'm not mistaken the last democrat to win

stayedwide office in the lone star state. >> ifill: let me reintroduce san antonio mayor juliaaán cast. >> that's right, mark. in preparing the keynote address i had an opportunity to going go back and look at her remarks in 1988. she was the last texan to deliver the keynote address and the original one was congresswoman barbara jordan. >> ifill: those were some footsteps to follow. >> and i knew i couldn't. >> will texas have a democrat -- the demographics seem to be in your favor. we've been hearing for a long time about texas becoming blue. >> that day is coming. i believe it's sooner rather than later. three quick reasons. first, the growth of the hispanic community and more and more hispanics are voting.

secondly, the infusion of people from outside of texas who are moving in because of economic boom of texas into the houston area, s austin, dallas, san antonio suburbs and third because of the republican party has gone to the far right and that is opening up the playing field for moderate probusiness democrats to get elected in the state. i think it will happen within the next 6-8 years. >> woodruff: let me bring it back to something we were listening to, not just cecile richards but so many speakers it's about reproductive rights for women. a lot of conversation, a lot of it about the remarks from todd akin from missouri. many will tell you that the impression of the party is that it's prochoice but that it doesn't welcome a prolife view. how open is the democratic party to folks who are prolife? >> i know in texas we've had in

the last decade we've had several folks running on the democratic ticket for statewide office that were prolife. the lion's share of democrats are prochoice but to me it's clear if you are looking for the bigger party across a whole host of issues that's the democratic party. >> woodruff: but you are not hearing that other upon the point of view on reproductive rights, are you? >> sure. >> rooney: is a liability to the -- >> woodruff: is that a lie glability. >> think i voters in texas or any other state if they get a sense of candidates in all other races. if there's a platform that doesn't exactly match the views that each candidate has embraces in the race that diversity also exists at smaller down ballot races, too. >> ifill: let me phrase the question a different way.

you are a practicing catholic. you referenced your grandmother and her rosaries last night in her speech. to what degree are catholics conflicted in the democratic party when it comes to issues of life? >> there's knoll question that there's a -- there's no question that there's a teaching of the catholic church in contradiction with a prochoice tradition. there are folks who are made an issue of that if you look at opinion polls of catholics, it's very clear that there's also a significant number of catholics who are prochoice and so i feel like -- you know, almost anything, whether it's religion or something else, an ideology that folks subscribe to you won't see it 100%. i realize that has a catholic that i don't have the same view as the bishops, as the pope, but

i'm still catholic. that's my view. and i don't think that because of one issue that a party should have a lock on being able to speak about their faith and the god that they worship. >> following up on judy and gwen's point, that is years earlier the democratic party was a pro-choice party but it always a preamble acknowledging it's a difficult moral question. there's no -- it doesn't suggest a big tent in 2012. there's no mention of that. one can say the republican party there's no mention of the exception that commonly agreed upon exception of insetcest and life of mother. haven't we got two parties polarized in the country? >> if you take what is mentioned

at the conventions, sure. if you look at candidates running across the board under each party's label we'll find more diversity of opinions among the dems. in the year 2012 -- i'm not saying it's always the case -- in the year 2012 i believe it's one party, the republican party that generally has moved further out so there's less divertity of opinion in 2012 in that party than there is in the democratic party. >> woodruff: you are saying it's not spoken about? >> yeah, you're not going to see it convention to convention. but you'll see it at individual races and who is able to win and get through the primaries the democrat party versus the republican party. >> this election is about the economy. this is supposed to be economy night of an economy election and we've heard more about reproductive rights than we have about job creation. is something weird going on? >> the night is still young.

[ laughter ] i think we're going to hear from both senate candidate elizabeth warren and president clinton, very much down their alley to talk about the economy and what it means to support middle class families. i believe when we get to the speeches tonight we'll hear about that like i addressed that yesterday. and in her own way the first lady addressed the pocketbook issues so important to families across the nation. >> ifill: you may have a bias here. i'm going to ask you to candy cap your brother's race, with a queen your eerily twin brother. >> of course i'm buy yaged. it looks good. he and i grew up in the district he is seeking to represent. he is following the gonzalez family, an iconic family in terms of texas nothing is ever a shower thing and he's not taking it for granted but i believe he will win in november and it will he about a special celebration

for us if he does. >> ifill: okay. mayor juliaaán castro mayor of n antonio, texas. fresh off his speech last night. thank you for having me. >> ifill: we'll good to the floor and listen to the house democratic whip -- is that a title, whip minority whip in process sey -- steny hoyer. >> god bless america, every american and god bless all of you. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] >> woodruff: caught the tail end of congressman steny hoyer who is the house minority whip. we believe there's going to be a veterans-related video coming up right now. they are a little bit -- they are tinkering with the schedule a little bit. so we're watching. ♪

>> the vietnam guys we decided to welcome each other home. whenever a vietnam guy meets another vietnam guy we say welcome home. no one says that to us. my name is edward john francis meaghe rerks. i volunteered to go to vietnam. i didn't truly understand what it meant to go to a war zone. it changes you really dramatically. but what you have to do is make sure it changes you for the better and not for the worse. >> i was worried that the troops coming back from iraq and afghanistan were going to get ignored. myself and several friends, vietnam guys, we decided we were going to step up for the last eight and a half years i've been making sure that when the folks come home not only are they welcomed but that they are taken care of.

we focus with the critically injured soldiers coming back to walter reed. when a soldier gets better and starts to think about leaving the hospital for the first time. we like to be the guys to take them out for a steak dinner. it's good to see them go out to society with wound as an injuries and be suck ceaseful -- successful. we take care of things that come up. we help with resumes, interviewing skills, help them meeting up with mentors and support teams. we're vets we know what they are going through. i feel so privileged to have the opportunity to meet these folks. whenever one of these guys tries to thank me. i said you got this all wrong, you are giving me a gift. can i help you. -- i can help you. >> that's me, sir. >> president obama has fought for veterans. those of us who stood up to

protect our country now need to stand up for him. i worked with the injured guys at walter reed and they need to know someone slook out for them. our commander in chief does it because he believes in his heart that it's the right thing to do. i appreciate everything you've done in terms of advocacy. >> you can hear it in his voice when he says to our troops, welcome home. >> ladies and ladies and gentlee welcome air force vietnam veteran edward meagher from great falls, virginia. [cheers and applause] >> good evening. my name is ed meagher. can you imagine how it feels to return from war emotionally, psychologically and physically mangled and the country you've been fighting for does not welcome you home?

as a veteran of vietnam war, i know exactly how that feels. nine years ago i decided i would do what i can to give the soldiers returning from iraq and afghanistan a better welcome home than i had. along with two of my fellow vietnam vets, i worked with some of our most seriously injured warriors and their families to prepare them for jobs, to help them find their way through the medical system and to lift their spirits. our days help amputees to realize they have lives even if they lost limbs. we help punch up resumes to reflect skills they possess that they don't know were marketable. we've coached them, provided fresh business outfits and computers to help them with job searches. supporting our efforts is president obama's actions, increasing the v.a. budget to

$140 billion in 2013. [cheers and applause] fully funding the new gi bill allowing over 800,000 veterans and their families to pursue an education and begin their post-military service to our country. the obama administration has hired more than 3500 mental health professionles and they'll hire 1600 more over the next year to help veterans to cope with post traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries and strength suicide prevention efforts. [cheers and applause] last memorial day, president obama declared the treatment of vietnam veterans a national shame and he spoke true, sweet words. my generation of returning veterans have yearned to hear,

"welcome home." ♪ >> please welcome retired general eric shinseki. >> allow had a to the -- aloha to the hawaii delegation. good evening, everyone, especially all of the veterans in the audience. [cheers and applause] my name is rick shinseki and i'm a soldier. i spent 38 years in uniform and as a veteran i'm here to speak about a presidents who devotion to veterans is sincere, it's steadfast and it is strong. i know this firsthand.

i first met barack obama in move 2008. i soon realized we were both shaped and inspired by family members who had served in world war ii. three of my uncles helped liberate europe. when they returned home, they helped to raise me. [cheers and applause] they used the original gi bill to open small businesses. they worked hard, played by the rules, and loved this country. i learned those values from them. and president obama learned the same values from the veterans in his family. during our first meeting nearly four years ago, the president's commitment to veterans was clear. he understands that we have the finest military in the world,

and we have a commitment to keep our faith with our men and women in uniform. today our iraq and afghanistan warriors have displayed enormous discipline and love of country. [ applause ] we have a moral obligation to care for them when they come home. health care, education, jobs, but above all we owe veterans dignity and respect. [cheers and applause] president obama gets it. he listens. he wants the facts. and the results of his leadership are clear. since president obama took office, nearly 800,000 veterans, including a growing population of women veterans have gained

access to v.a. health care. [ applause ] there's been an historic expansion of treatment for ptsd and traumatic brain injury. president obama has expanded job training to prepare veterans for the jobs of the future. and we're on track to end veterans' homelessness by 2015. [ applause ] no president since franklin delano roosevelt has done more for veterans. we could not ask for a stronger advocate. we've made tremendous progress under this president's leadership but there's much more to be done for the men and women who guarantee our way of life. they've served selflessly with unmatched valor, sacrifice and

distinction. and president obama is determined that we will repay our debt to them. [ applause ] god bless our veterans. god bless our president. and may god continue to bless this wonderful country of ours. thank you, good evening. [cheers and applause] >> woodruff: secretary of veterans administration eric shinseki, also a retired army general who ran into difficulty in the bush administration when he complained about what the iraq war was going to mean. joining us here in the sky box is someone who gave a wonder of a speech last night. he's massachusetts governor deval patrick and also a national cochair for the obama campaign. welcome governor. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: i've been talking

about what you said last night when you said the democrats need to grow a backbone. what happened to the backbone? >> i just think we need to be clear not only about policies and details. they are important and our ideas but our values and what our motivating principles are. we very much believe in this party, i believe, in the american dream and there are things government can do. not to solve every problem but to help people help themselves it's a compelling argument. i don't think we make it enough and i don't think we connect all of the things we're trying to do from a policy perspective to that objective. >> woodruff: i sound like you were saying democrats were laying down on the field. they are not out there in the action in the middle of this hotly fought presidential campaign. >> i think we have to make it personal. i don't think it's just about commercials or those of us who have leadership roles in the campaign. it's about inviting people at the grass roots whether they

never miss an election cycle or this is the very first election cycle to get involved and connect to others in their community and make this personal because i believe the future of the american dream is at stake. >> ifill: part of the reason you were on stage is because you succeeded mitt romney as governor of massachusetts. one of the things you said about him was getting a job rather than having a job. if that's true how did you explain massachusetts health care. >> let me just say as i said over and over again and believe very seriously mitt romney has always been a gentleman to me. he's a good man, i think, and a really astonishing -- >> ifill: all democrats are stipulate laying he's a good man. >> look, the experience we had in massachusetts was that he was more interested in having the job than doing it. he did not stimulate the economy. he did not sell the state. he did not eliminate a

structural deficit. he did not repair roads and bridges. he did one appropriate fondly important thing and that is to move health care reform and it's wildly successful and wildly popular at home. if it were polling better, meaning the national model, he would wrap his arms around it. that's the issue. it's an integrity issue from our per perspective at home. >> i'll keep asking this question until i get an answer. >> what is the most important law president obama will pass in the second term. >> i i can tell you the agenda. i'll answer this way, david because i don't think presidents or chief executives are super legislators. it's about tools. it's waning ajendal. we're driving unemployment rate down well below the national average. i've been more fortunate at home to get the tools from our

legislature. not the first time i ask but eventually. i think the president will be a lot more fortunate in the coming term. >> when you say innovation those are words you put on the title not in the folder. >> i'll give yod whys. at home we have emphasizes those growth sectors that are dependent on new ideas, it, information technology, new it, robotics, communications, so forth, financial services, life sciences and biotech, huge at home for us, clean tech where we've had a 12% or 13 become the employment growth. it's not to the exclusion of others but that emphasis is where is so much of the growth is coming in an economy based on a knowledge explosion. >> governor michael dukakis 24 years ago nominated, a predecessor of yours said your speech was the best he had ever

heard last night but he added that mitt romney is a fraud. it's up to the people of massachusetts to let the rest of the country know that he is a fraud. would you agree with michael dukakis? >> i think there's a lot of attention we get from massachusetts or on massachusetts because that's the only place where mitt romney has served as a public c.e.o., a public sector c.e.o. it's obviously a part of the story. from my own comfort level and my own sense of where the american public is people want to know what they are for not just who they are voting against. i think it's very, very important for democrats to make the case of what we're asking people to vote for because it's a compelling case ands a transsenting one. >> woodruff: do you know what the president is going to say tomorrow night? >> i haven't seen the speech but

he believes in his heart that we must turn to and not on each other and doing this around the agenda of investing in education and innovation and energy and infrastructure is a winning strategy that enables to restore the middle class and rebuild the american dream. >> ifill: can i ask about something from the speech which caught my ear. you said the president should not be bullied out of office. that say strong term? >> especially for you, right? -- for me, right? >> for you and what is it about bullying? >> it's about being in the midst of an economic meltdown and having minority leader in the senate and one of the most prominent members of the republican party say that the number one agenda of republicans is to make this a one term president. what we must not toll rate and must reject is a behavior in the

congress. i would say the same thing, i'm telling if you dems were behaving this way, a behavior that simply says we're going to say no not because we disagree on substance or because we've oppose aid point. view but because we want to embarrass and defeat and diminish this president. to have that be an idea anybody would reward especially at a time of crisis is what i think part of this election is about. >> ifill: you seem pretty exercised about it. >> sorry, i feel really strongly about it. >> ifill: you say this president what about this president do you mean? >> this is a president who ran on and believes that ideas don't have parties. good ideas come from all cierches sources. we have to be willing to turn to the ideas if they are going to make a difference for the people of country. he has taken a number of those good ideas and proposed them and

congressional republicans have said not you, not the idea we're going to stand in the way because this president proposed it. and that, i think, has got to be dealt with in this election. >> ifill: governor patrick thank you for joining us. we're going to the podium where the sister simone campbell is about to speak. >> good evening, i'm one of the nuns on the bus! [cheers and applause] yes, we have nuns on the bus and a nun on the podium. let me explain why i'm here tonight. in june, i joined other catholic sisters on a 2700 mile bus journey through nine states to tell americans about the budget that congressman paul ryan wrote

and governor romney endorsed. paul ryan claims this budget reflects the principles of our shared faith. but the united states conference catholic bishops stated that the ryan budget failed a basic moral test because it would harm families living in poverty. we agree with our bishop, and that's why we went on the road to stand with struggling families and to lift up our catholic sisters who serve them. their work to alleviate suffering would be seriously harmed by the romney/ryan budget and that is wrong. [ applause ] during our journey i rediscovered a few truths. first mitt romney and paul ryan are correct when they say that each individual should be responsible. but their budget goes astray in

not acknowledging that we're responsible not only for ourselves and our immediate family rather our faith strongly affirms that we're all responsible for one another. i am my sister's keeper. i am my brother's keeper. [cheers and applause] while we were in toledo -- in toledo, i met ten-year-old twins matt and mark who had got noon trouble at school for fighting. sister virginia and the staff at the center took them in when they were suspended and discovered on a home visit that these ten year olds were trying to care for their bed ridden mother who has ms and diabetes. they were her only caregivers. the sisters got her medical help

and boys stability. they are free to claim much childhood they were losing. clearly we all share responsibility for the mess and marks in our nation. in milwaukee i met billy and his wife and two boys at st. benedicts dining room. billy's work hours were cut back in the recession and billy is taking responsibility for himself and his family but right now, without food stamps he and his wife could not put food on the family table. we share responsibility for creating an economy where parents with jobs earn enough to care for their families. [cheers and applause] in order to cut taxes for the wealthy the romney ryan budget would make it even tougher on hard-working americans like billy to feed their families.

paul ryan says this budget is in keeping with the moral values of our shared faith. i disagree. [cheers and applause] in cincinnati -- in cincinnati i met jimmy who had just come from her sister's memorial service when guinea's sister margaret lost her job, she lost her health insurance. she developed cancer and had no access to diagnosis or treatment. she died unnecessarily and that is tragic and it is wrong. aid foible care act -- the affordable care act will cover people like margaret. we all share responsibility to ensure that this vital health care reform law is properly imr implemented and that all governors -- all governors -- expand medicaid coverage so no

more margarets die from lack of car. this is part of my pro-life stance and the right thing to do. [cheers and applause] i have so many other stories to tell but i'll tell you just one more. in hershey, pennsylvania, a woman in her late 30s came to me, approached us she asked for names to talk to because she was alone and isolated. her neighbors were pollarrized by politics mass can a raiding as values. she cares about the well being of people in her community. she wishes the rest of the nation would listen to one another with kindness and compassion. listen to one another rather than yell at each other. i told her then and i tell her

now that she is not alone. looking at you tonight, i feel your presence combined with that of the thousands of caring people we met on our journey. together we understand an im moral budget that hurts already struggling families does not reflect our nation's values. we are better than that. so i urge you -- i urge you, join us on the bus. join us together as we stand with matt and mark, billy and his family, and the woman in hershey and the margarets of our nation. this is what nuns on the bus are all about. we care for the 100%. and that will secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our nation. so join us -- join us as we nuns on the bus, all of us strive for faith, family and fairness. thank you so much.

[cheers and applause] >> ifill: sister simone campbell getting a being reaction. the nun on the bus and the director of roman catholic social justice organization network. we'll take a short break and be back with a live broadcast in a few moments. you can continue watching on the six-channel live stream.

the pbs newshour's special coverage of 2012 democratic national convention. i'm joody woodruff. >> ifill: i'm gwen ifill. still with us mark shields and

david brooks. joining us now is chicago mayor rahm emanuel, president obama's former chief of staff. welcome to the sky box. >> the way you said that still here like relatives you can't get rid of. thing that with the family, thursday at 7:00 get out of here. >> ifill: closer than you know. you've take on i anew role with the obama campaign over seeing the outside fund-raising the super pac. why is that? are they lagging so bad they needed emergency help? [ laughter ] >> my view is look there's 60 days left. there's a clear disparity and don't want to look back and say i would have, could have, should have and if i can help, i'll do -- >> this is the one of the worst decisions ever made by the supreme court since dred scott in my view.

a horrible decision. that said these are the rules the supreme court made a decision. i won't allow them if i can have anything to do with it a 20 to one dispairity that tilts plating field when you are talking about five or six states. it's a horrible decision. they've thrown the democratic process upside down, inside out. that said, i'm not going to allow an election go by for a president i've worked who i think is a very good president and have money in this way influence it. >> woodruff: mayor, one gets the sense there are republicans falling all over themselves to gives hundreds and millions of dollars to governor romney. are there people out there prepared to give that kind of money to president obama? >> i'll find out shortly is one way to look at it. i think there's a number of people who believe in the president, believe in what he is doing and do not like what they say as a way of a few

individuals being able to distort what is going on. i i don't think that's individuals voices are more valuable, more important than everybody else's. that's what has happened with the supreme court decision. >> woodruff: if those people are sold on president obama, why haven't they given already? >> maybe the wrong -- there's a host of reasons, judy. we'll find out. i'm going to try to add whatever credibility, i have, if i have any, to make that effort. >> mr. mayor from 1974 forward the democrats after watergate had a high moral ground on the issue of campaign finance. they were the reformers. they for fitted that in 2008 when president obama broke the limits of it and outspend john mccain two to one. >> yes. >> it isn't simply the supreme court. money then became dominant in the politics, wait, wait, mark, prior to 2008 money was not dominant and it became dominant? is that what you are saying.

>> i'm saying barack obama had for fitting what was historically a democratic authority on the issue become the first president not a-to-abide which limited the playing field. that is the problem for the democrats as they try to say it's all the republicans advantage in 2012. >> go ahead and finish. >> i guess my question is based on that is: how do we have any sense, president obama if he's reelected that 2013 will be any different given the climate you described politcally that it's going to be different in the second term than the first? >> first of all we're all a product of our experiences. in 1995 the republicans shut down the government over the role of government, medicare, medicaid, education, environment. the thing -- talking about today. we had a campaign, the election was held nine months later there

was a balanced budget agreement. they reformed medicare, created a children's health care reform, hope scholarships for college education, doubled national parks. elections matter, mark. i believe that we're in the first four years, republicans like bill clinton fought tooth and nail against him once the electric was held said it's a different day, here we good. i thinks to possible john boehner if he's speaker. i hope it's not that. i said if he will have a different caucus, a different election and the reason he didn't get an agreement on the debt limit he didn't have control of the caucus. the party wasn't ready to make a compromise. i think if president obama wins reelection, which i believe he will, just like in 1996, the republicans will look around and say, you no he what? we can't do this for four years. the first year and a half will be a productive year and a half for the country. >> let's talk about that four years ago barack obama had a

health care proposal. he put it on the table. hillary clinton had one. she put it on the table. get locketted half the thing. what is the big proposal on the table now from president obama? i don't see one? >> well, david as an avid reader of your column, i think first of all that is part of what tonight is about. and it's not about this -- if it's a ten-point plan speech -- forget about it. i think he has a responsibility tomorrow night to lay out what the goals and objectives are of the second term. and chief executives do that. as in the case of mitt romney the reason, i believe that everybody talked about clint eastwood it was in the a comment about clint eastwood. it was a comment that mitt romney's speech was vac cuous and empty. it didn't fill the space. i think after our convention the president's speech will fill the space because it will be a broad stroke -- not dot, stroke, but

counting all the little numbers and dots, vision of a second term and why -- what he will do with that term because it will be what you are going to do with the four years. that i think will be specific. in that kind of context not a seven point energy plan. >> ifill: let's talk about another president you worked for bill clinton. >> i can't keep a job. >> ifill: failing upward is the secret. what do we expect from bill clinton tonight? what is he bringing to this event? >> first of all put the last four years in context. that's number one and in the context of somebody who faced pierce republican opposition, somebody who faces opposition in investment education, investment in environment and investment in health care. the similarity as know, scary a. since the republicans never voted for bill clinton's budget. republicans did not vote for barack obama's budget. the fights about medicare,

environment and medicaid are the similar problem the president is having today. i think he will put the parallel, this is what i believe he'll do. the parallel political and policy battles and experiences that the two presidents have and the mission they have for the country, he was able to see his through with two terms. that's why president obama deserves a second. >> they are saying good things. >> this is all i've got left after that. i do not remember the impreachment was not exactly what i call a bipartisan process. there are votes against the budget and his first budget was absolute. they sent him two welfare bills. it was all about cuts and not about reforming the system. when he sent troops to kosovo to end human rights abuse in the genocide there, when the troops were in the air the republican congress voted against it. no president has seen that. this motion of white wash

history that they were a bipartisan extending their hand, i find it galling that they would actually want to rewrite historiment everything, they defeated a kid's tobacco bill that president obama passed with bipartisan. everything was fought in the effort there. the notion that there was a bipartisan, we're all working together. you all were there. >> woodruff: well i -- >> you were there. >> you're speaking the truth on that subject. >> let's end it right there. >> ifill: i want to ask you about the romney ad about gutting welfare. you also were there for that when president clinton's welfare reform bill passed. as you watch these ads unfold which so many independent factors have scus discussed it. >> i was in the room, bruce reid was vice president design the welfare bill for president

clinton. he vetoed the two republican bills that literally obliterated. the president said one, it had to move people to welfare to work. two, he had to make sure it was a one year transitional healthcare so he didn't cut it off which is one of the reasons people fell back on to welfare. third, give a child 16, had ad child forced them into independence which is a culture of independences. it changed the system fundamentally. this notion of giving sphaitle flex bill -- states flexibility, massachusetts, alabama, california, and tennessee wanted to do to design their welfare to work plan was distinct with one goal. work, not welfare. independence, not dependent. and it was the governors who wanted that flexibility with the single go but uniquely, particularly designed. and governor romney in 2002 asked for that waiver. the culture that president obama demanded and worked his life as

a governor on the notion of reforming welfare, one of the declining bills, him as a drarks he very -- democrats he vetoed the republican bill, he created that system. senator obama, state senator obama created the illinois version of the welfare to work legislation that implemented it. this is a society politics that is not only takes the truth but turns it upside down in a way that actually governor romney knows full well what he's saying on that ad is not true. >> there's a little deception on both sides. >> we're talking about specifically about welfare. >> you are absolutely right on that. >> i was in the room. he was no where to be seen. he wasn't even part of the political area. and this bill was going to change the system if it succeeded. and the state flexibility was designed exactly to achieve the objective that every governor's used. >> woodruff: and they're still running those ads, the republicans are still running those ads making that claim. >> yes. >> i was able to say on medicare

i heard speaker after speaker here say that romney/ryan would take away medicare and voucherrize it. the romney riem ryan a ryan as s service for medicare. it's a long time. and secondly that's what it is. secondly they're charging and i heard it again and again it will force seniors to pay $6,000 a year. that was a study done on obsolete 2011 program that has nothing to do with romney/ryan care. we're hearing deception from them. >> ifill: you have this argument for the next time on the floor but go ahead and answer the question. >> look, there is a fundamental difference between the parties on medicare. and one is whether you see the same mission for medicare as the universal healthcare plan for senior citizens or not, and what seniors have to pay for it. that's really where the debate is. >> woodruff: chicago mayor

rahm emanuel. >> i will help the president when i can. >> woodruff: the man who can handle two jobs at once. at the podium now is bill butcher, he's the founder of the brewing company in alexandra, virginia. >> you know, i don't have time to pay much attention to politics because i'm too busy running my business. i think a lot of small business owners feel the same way. we don't care about the daily back and forth of campaigns, we just want leaders in washington who believe in us and make it a little easier for us to succeed. our president is that kind of leader. [cheers and applause] there were moments when my wife karen and i wondered if we would ever get our business off the ground. i remember what it was like to go to bank after bank after bank hearing no. we may not have ever gotten to yes if it wasn't for president

obama and the fda loan program that he started. [crowd cheering] for these last four years, i've had a president who is on my side. he cuts small business taxes 18 times. he kept middle class taxes low, which meant more customers for my product. he knows that growing the middle class helps businesses create jobs. and i know that if he gets a second term, entrepreneurs like me will have the best possible chance to succeed. [crowd cheering] i hear, i hear president obama has been brewing some beer in the white house recently, and i know you're not supposed to endorse a competitor, but in this case i'm going to make an exception. our president has fought for small business owners and now it's time to fight for him. thank you everybody. [cheers and applause]

page please welcome california state attorney general pam cam -- kamala harris. [crowd cheering] >> on behalf of the great state of california, i thank you for the honor and privilege to be here. so let's get right down to business. we are here because we love our country. and we firmly believe in the american ideal that our country should work for everyone. that ideal is written into our laws. the rules of the road that create a level playing field in this country.

those are the rules i became attorney general to uphold. and those are the rules mitt romney would have us roll back. he would roll back the rules that protect the air we breathe and the water we drink. roll back the rules that protect the health and safety of women and families. roll back the rules that prevent the kinds of recklessness that got our economy into this mess in the first place. well, i've seen all that happens when you roll back those rules. what happens are rows of foreclosure signs, what happens are mountains of family debt. what happens is a middle class that's hurting. that's what we've seen in towns across california and across

this country. when it comes to the housing crises, the choice between barack obama and mitt romney is clear. the fact is, we don't have to guess what mitt romney would have done if he were president because he told us. he said we should let foreclosures, and i quote, hit the bottom. so the market could, i quote, run its course. run its course. that's not leadership. doing nothing while the middle class is hurting, that's not leadership. loose regulations and lax enforcement, that's not leadership. that's abandoning our middle class.

here's what president obama did. president obama won wall street reform to prevent any more tax-funded bailouts. president obama won credit card reform so you don't get stuck with sudden fees and rate hikes. president obama stood with me and 48 other attorneys general in taking on the banks and winning $25 billion for struggling homeowners. [crowd cheering] that's leadership. that's what president obama did. and that's why we need to give him another four years. [crowd cheering] we need to move forward. president obama will fight for working families. he will fight to level the economic playing field. and fight to give every american

the same fair shot my family had. i remember when my mother shamala harris bought our first home. i was 13. she was so proud. and my sister and i were so excited. millions of families and millions of americans know that feeling of walking through the front door of their own home for the first time, the feeling of reaching for opportunity and finding it. that's the choice in this election. it's a choice between an america where opportunity is open to everyone, where everyone plays by the same set of rules. or, a philosophy that tilts the playing field to help the wealthiest few. a choice between holding wall street accountable or letting it write its own rules.

mitt romney subscribes to the cynical logic that says the american dream belongs to some of us and not all of us. well, i'll tell you who the american dream belongs to. it belongs to the student in sacramento who doesn't have much money but who goes to bed each night dreaming big dreams. it belongs to the men and women across this country who know it shouldn't be against the law to marry the person you love. [applause] it belongs to the immigrants young and old who come to this country in search of a better life. and it belongs to little girls who have the joy of watching their mother, like i did, buy her first home. [crowd cheering] the american dream belongs to all of us.

and if we can work together and stand together and vote together on november 6th for president barack obama, that's a dream we will put within reach of all our people. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> i get letters from kids all across the country. they came here when they were five. they came here when they were eight. their parents were undocumented.

the kids didn't know. suddenly they come to 18, 19 years old and they realize, you know i feel american, i am an american, the law doesn't recognize me as american. i'm willing to serve my country, i'm willing to fight for this country. i wanted to go to college and better myself. and i'm at risk of deportation. and it is heart breaking. it makes no sense to expel talented young people who have been raised as americans, understand themselves to be part of this country. effective immediately. the department of homeland security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people. this is a temporary stop-gap measure that let's us focus on resources wisely while giving a

degree of relief and hope the talented-driven patriotic young people. as long as i'm president, i will not give up on this issue, not only because it's the right thing to do for our economy, not just because it's the right thing to do for our security, but because it's the right thing to do, period. [applause] >> please welcome benita veliz. >> my name is benita veliz and i'm from san antonio, texas. [crowd cheering] why so many americans of all races and backgrounds, i was brought here as a child. i've been here ever since. i graduated as valedictorian of

my high school class at the age of 16. [crowd cheering] i went on to earn a double major at the age of 20. [applause] i know i have something to contribute to my economy and my country. i feel just as american as any of my friends or neighbors. [applause] i've had to live almost my entire life knowing i could be deported just because of the way i came here. president obama fought for the dream act to help people like me ... [cheers and applause] and when congress refused to pass it, he didn't give up.

instead, he took action so that people like me can apply to stay in our country and contribute. we will keep feeting for reform, but while we do, we're able to work steady and pursue the american dream. [cheers and applause] president obama has fought for my community. now it's my honor to introduce one of the leaders in my community who is fighting for him, from her televieptze televo her magazines and her network, she's truly an icon, ladies and gentlemen, cristina saralegui.

[applause] >> hello there. wow. oh my god. wasn't that something. muchas gracias and to those who study and do their homework. like most latinas, you know that i'm not afraid to speak my mind. through the years i've given some people some very tough questions, i've tackled big issues on live tv but one thing i have never done until now was getting involved in politics. no, dios mio. but this year is very different. if 2008 was an important

election, it's nothing compared to 2012. nothing. [applause] thank you. like benita, i know what it's like to come to this country at a young age. i was 12 years old when, like so many cubans my parents fled the castro regime. viva cuba. for us america meant freedom. america was the place that said it don't matter where you come from, it doesn't matter what your last name is, it doesn't matter if you drink or latte or coffee with leche, coffee with milk. here if you work very hard, anything is possible. and that's what i did.

si se puede. i couldn't afford to go to college i got an internship job in a magazine and i turned that into a job and that job into a business and a television show that ended up with 100 million viewers in 40 different countries. [cheers and applause] si se puede. for me, muchas gracias. for me it's not just a dream, it's a promise. isn't just an idea, it's not a theory, it's my life story out of many dreamers. i want to pass that promise on to my grandchildren, dominic and

christina maria awe. i want them to grow up in the kind of country i grew up in. [applause] this is about my gente. for the first time in my life the promise of america is in danger. nearly every part of governor romney's plan will put that american dream further out of reach. in order to cut taxes for those at the very top, he would raise taxes for middle class families, slash education and cut student aid. governor romney will turn medicare from a guarantee into una pls libreta cupones, a book of coupons. he will force millions of hispanics to lose insurance. governor romney's plan is really

just one word, patras, backwards. we need to move forward. palante. we need to re-elect our president obama. [cheers and applause] our president is an incredible man. he fights for us every single day. he helped prevent a second rate depression. he cut taxes from middle class families and small businesses. he fought for healthcare reform which is already helping millions of americans afford insurance. his education policies mean hispanics will receive an estimated 150,000 more college scholarships. he is on our side. [cheers and applause]

yes, and he knows we still have a lot of work to do. president obama has a detailed plan. you can find this plan right on his website. it's a plan to grow our economy from the middle class out and the bottom up, not from the top down. a plan to invent, invest to education, a plan to invest in manufacturing and a plan to pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship. [cheers and applause] thank you. on immigration, governor romney's views, this really freaked me out. his views could not be more extreme. he says we should make life so unbearable for 11 million people that they simply self deport.

what is that. he said that arizona's immigration law should be a model for our country. [crowd booing] >> don't boo, vote. [cheers and applause] he even, he even made the architect of that horrible law an immigration advisor for his campaign. that was really smart. vote. vote. and if he can has promised to repeal the dream act. this election is about many things. but if you want to understand the values of the two candidates, all you have to do is think about benita, the beautiful lady that introduced me tonight. governor romney calls young people like her at 27 illegal aliens. president obama calls them

dreamers. [cheers and applause] and that is the difference in this election. so in closing, i'm asking for my gen tempt all of meye my peopleo please join me. we come from countries that are not counted properly. in fact they're not counted at all. here we latinos have a very powerful voice but only if we use it. [cheers and applause] that begins with making sure you are registered to vote. so i want you to vote, got to vote and as spanish votemos todos. they have everything you need to get registered. make sure your friends and family are registered too. charlotte, let me ask you a imurrequestquestion girlfriend.

are you in. will you register your voters, will you talk to your family and friends. will you fight for that dream we all flea believe in. will you keep the promise of this country alive. estamos unidos. let's do this together. palante, palante. muchas gracias. thank you very much. [crowd cheering] >> please welcome austin ligon, cofounder and retired ceo of carmax, incorporated. >> when we first started carmax 19 years ago, we had a simple idea to make buying a used car

transference an eyes process. today carmax has grown to be america's largest retailer implying 17,000 people in 30 states and one of fortune's top 100 companies to work for. we worked hard to build and conceive an idea for carmax but we didn't do it alone. we succeeded because we had intensely committed associates. healthy and flexible capital markets, good roads and bridges that let us move product rapidly, cooperative federal, state and local governments that helped us have clear rules of the roads and plan and grow our business. as a businessman, i know president obama understands what it takes to spark economic growth because i've seen him in action. when he took office, he inherited a massive structural deficit from his republican

predecessor, an economy free fall and most importantly for me personal leanna toe industrly an the verge of collapse. there was restructuring of two of america's largest corporations, gm and chrysler. that didn't just save the car companies it helped prevent a domino effect that would taken down everything in the auto industries from fact trees that manufactured auto parts to the daryltdealers who also sold the. he helped launch targeted efforts to help people buy cars again. these actions prevented over a million job losses and laid the ground work for what's now a robust recovery of the american auto industry. the president deserves credit for this extraordinary success. and i'm determined to see that he gets it. [crowd cheering] as a businessman who focuses on

facts, not political rhetoric, i think the choice in this election is clear. president obama has shown he has the vision to support average consumers and taxpayers. he nrs understands that the conr is the engine of the economic growth. that businesses can't prosper without them. that's why he has a plan to reduce the deficit, to invest in infrastructure expej case, to -- expej caseand education, to cond not millionaires because that's what works. that's how we grow the economy from the middle out, not from the top down. as a businessman, i'll tell you, mitt romney just doesn't get it. that's why i'm voting to extend barack obama's management contract for four more years. [crowd cheering] plowsh thank you. thank you.

>> u.s. auto industry is in dire straits. reports showed manufacturing industry hitting a 26 year low last month. >> things happened really fast. nobody's going to buy a car in that kind of a climate so i started seeing a lay off here and lay off there. >> auto makers are desperately waiting for a lifeline while thousands of workers in all sorts of industries are losing their livelihood. >> if i don't go to work anymore, the five or six suppliers go away. the grocery stores close.

nobody kne been those in the auto industry. we cannot and must not and we will not let our auto industry simply vanish. >> i remember the day that president obama came on tv and said that he was going to grab the auto loan. i sat up on the couch and said oh my god we're getting our loan. >> my kids and i were all sitting here. we just hugged and i screamed and we all danced around.

mommy's going back to work. >> president obama gave us the tools and we ran with it. so when we came back to work, we wanted to do well, a bar to get it done, a bar to be a company again. >> good evening, it worked. that's what the president said as he slootd the official return of america's auto industry. >> we came back just with a vengeance. >> as of tonight, general motors is back on top. >> we came from the scariest moment in our life to the most frantic. >> it was the day that chrysler paid back the loan. it was one of the proudest moments i've had working at chrysler because everybody worked together from the ceo's down to the janitors to make our company provide. we made a promise to the country, made a promise to the president and we were going to make good on it. >> don't bet against the american worker, don't bet

against the american people. >> to me a leader is someone that actually hears the people and is not afraid to work for the people. and i think president obama proved that from what he's done for us. >> he showed the kind of leadership and character that's required in a president that will do what's best for the group and not necessarily limb self. >> i've seen new businesses swelled all all around the plant. when we do good everybody does good. >> are you better now than you were four years ago. yes, we are better and we will be even better with what we've got going right now and that's president obama. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome karen eusanio from hubbard, ohio. [crowd cheering] >> for almost 20 years i've been a proud member of the uaw local

1112. [crowd cheering] a second generation auto worker are. and i'm proud and thanks to president obama, i still am. my mom retired from gm after 30 years, and my brother worked there too. but really everyone there is like family. we look out for each other, not just because we're gm or because we are ohioans but we're americans. [crowd cheering] when the auto industry was on its last leg, i was laid off and i was terrified. how was i going to provide for my daughter and my two boys. or pay my mortgage. how is the valley going to survive when so many of us were out of work, when so many to lose what they worked so hard for. the answer wasn't obvious, and the solution wasn't popular. president obama didn't think about the polls or the politics,

he thought about the people. [crowd cheering] and because he put himself in our shoes, we're back on our feet. some said we shouldn't rescue the auto industry. president obama knew he had to move our country forward. today, i'm back at work. we have three shifts building cars for the future like the chevy cruise. [crowd cheering] gm just didn't pay back our outstanding loans, they paid them back ahead of schedule and the valley is thriving again. [crowd cheering] president obama has a work ethic and value as my co-workers at gm. my neighbors in ohio, and he knows we're all in this

together. he believes in us, he stood up for us and i am proud and honored to stand here tonight for him. thank you very much. [crowd cheering] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome bob king, president of the united auto workers. [cheers and applause] >> the first woman to serve in both houses of the congress was margaret chase smith. and she said, the right way is not always the popular and the easy way. standing for right when it's unpopular is a true test of moral character.

margaret choice smit chase smita republican, but a very different kind than those republicans trying to overtake our country now. in some of america's darkest economic days since the great depression and in the face of tremendous political venom, president obama met the test of moral character. he stood up for not for what was popular and easy, but for what was right. [crowd cheering] he stood for and with american workers, not just auto workers, but a million workers in towns all across america. who, if the industry went under,

would not be able to put food on the table. we all remember what those days were like when president obama took office. workers waiting anxiously as their companies announced layoffs, banks refusing to loan, car sales were collapsing. it wasn't just auto companies that were struggling to survive, so were those companies making parts and selling cars. small businesses that relied on awe toauto worker as customers e diners and barber shops had to close down. un230e67lunfortunately most reps advocated doing nothing. and what did mitt romney say? you all know this, he said let detroit go bankrupt.

[crowd booing] in strong contrast, president obama took action, putting together a rescue team, demanding real change and real sacrifice. from everyone involved, from management, from labor, from suppliers, from debt holders, from dealers. everybody involved. it was not universally popular, but it was absolutely right. [cheers and applause] president obama's strong leadership saved a million jobs. since june of 2009, this industry has added a quarter of a million jobs and the auto industry is thriving again.

[crowd cheering] these are good middle class jobs in glass, in plastic, in steel. jobs making things for an economy built to last. and mitt romney's record, at bain capital the corporate buyout firm he founded too often has made their money not by building companies up but by taking them apart. and too often the workers ended up in the streets even as romney and his partners made millions of dollars. earlier this week, we celebrated labor day. people forget what this holiday and why it was created, what this holiday is. it was about safe work places,

healthcare, the 40 hour work week, middle class jobs. standards that all of us believe in. but these standards did not just happen. they happened because generations of working people fought for, and in some cases, died for. the right to organize and the right to collectively bargain. [crowd cheering] president ... president obama strongly supports these basic human rights, because these rights are good for all americans. strong unions and collective

bargaining. [crowd cheering] strong unions and collective bargaining have lifted millions of people out of poverty. and built the great american middle class. and it's the middle class that keeps america's democracy and economy strong. the republicans just look at wisconsin. the republicans want to take us back, back to a time when workers could not stand up for themselves, when workers couldn't speak with one voice, when workers couldn't speak out for fairness, justice and middle class opportunity. that's why unions matter. [crowd cheering]

i also proud to be a union member. [crowd cheering] and i also proud, i also proud to represent the men and women of the uaw. [crowd cheering] because, because of president obama's moral courage and leadership, america's auto industry is roaring again, leading the american economic recovery. an industry we once called the arson of democracy is driving us to new prosperity. this november, america faces a clear choice about what kind of country we want to be. the choice for working families

is clear. we must re-elect president barack obama. [crowd cheering] >> please welcome former employees of companies controlled by romney's bain capital, randy johnson, cindy hewitt and david foster. >> we just heard from bob king about president obama's record of creating jobs. i wanted to tell you about mitt romney's record of cutting jobs. mitt romney once said i like being able to fire people. well i can tell you from personal experience, he does. on july 5th, 1994, mitt romney

and his partners at bain capital fired me and more than 350 of my co-workers. it came without any warning. they rushed in the security guards to walk us out of our plant. we weren't even allowed to take our personal items. they handed us job applications and told us if we want you, we'll let you know. now the truth is, some folks were hired back, lower wages, fewer benefits, no retirement. but many others weren't. and seven months later, they closed our plant for good. what affected me most was having guys, the him now come to my desk and cry. guys who had nothing to fall back on. i don't think mitt romney's a bad man. i don't fault him for the fact that some companies win and some companies lose. that's a fact of life.

what i fault him for is making money without a moral compass. [crowd cheering] i fault him for putting profit before people like me. but that's just romney economics. america cannot afford romney economics. mitt romney will stick it to working people. barack obama sticking up for working people. it's simple as that. that's why i'm supporting him for a second term as president. [crowd cheering] >> when mitt romney first announced he was running for president, i had no idea who he was. but then i learned he was the ceo of bain capital, and that sure got my attention real fast.

i used to work at a plant in miami that governor romney bought with his partners from bain. i say used to because not long after they bought it, romney and his partners shut our plant down and ultimately drove our company into bankruptcy. our company -- our company was a big part of our community. there were folks who had been at the plant for 15-20 years. but by the time romney and his partners were done with us, we lost 850 jobs in florida. it was a really difficult time for me and for my co-workers, but not for governor romney and his partners. while we watched our jobs disappear, they ultimately walked away with more than asked 240 million dollars.

of course i understand, some companies are successful, others are not. let's the way our economy works. but it is wrong when dedicated, productive employees feel the pain while focuse folks like mit romney make profit. so when mitt romney talks about his business experience, remember it is not experience creating good paying jobs. it is experience cutting jobs. it is experience shutting plants. it is experience making millions of dollars by making life tougher for hard working americans. that is not the kind of experience we need in the whitehouse. we need a president who will create good paying jobs and make sure everyone has a fair chance.

we need president obama. [crowd cheering] >> good evening. good evening. a special greeting to my fellow minnesotaians and to the hard working missourians i was privileged to represent for so many years. i'm david foster and i was a steel worker for 31 years. for 15 s, laid brick and tapped the if yo if you furnacel that hard dirty work that turned molten metal into the cars, bridges and buildings that make america what it is today. [crowd cheering] and i also led the steelworkers

in a 13-state region including gsp steel in kansas city. a 100-year ol-old company boughy mitt romney and his partners at bain capital in 1993. now it's a stor story that i wii didn't have to tell but america needs to know the truth. when romney and bain took over the mill, they loaded it up with millions in debt. and within months, they used zoosome of that borrowed money o pay themselves millions. within a decade, the debt kept growing and was so large the company was forced into bankruptcy. they fired 750 steelworkers while they pocketed $12 million

in profits. a steel worker at gsp would have had to work 240 years to make $12 million. so in 2001, with gsp bankrupt and romney still ceo of bain, i had to stand in a rented auditorium in front of hundreds of steelworkers in their 50's and 60's, retirees and widows in their 70's and 80's and tell them romney and bain had broken their promises. jobs, vacation pay, severance, health insurance, pension benefits that were promised. they were all gone. now some companies succeed, some companies succeed, others fail. i know that. but i also know this. we don't need a president who

fires steelworkers or says let detroit go bankrupt. [crowd cheering] we need the leadership, we need the leadership of a men who during the darkest hours for america's auto industry rolled up his sleeves, risked his presidency and saved over one million good auto jobs. we need, we need barack obama. thank you. [crowd cheering] >> those three were the former employees of bain capital that private equity firm that was founded by mitt romney. there's some reaction now from our syndicated columnist mark shields and columnist david brooks. dave you've been saying for two nights now they don't talk enough about business in the private sector. there you go. >> okay.

they talked about something going out of business under bain. we can have arguments about that. there's a long story about gsp steel and what happened tight. the other side is it was going out of business anyway, they bought it tried, they failed and went out. in any case my argument has been there's no program here. and rahm emanuel says that the president was going to offer it tomorrow night. i'd like there to be one now. usually you have a campaign, you have issues to talk about. you have programs to talk about. he doesn't have to go into that detail. but does he support as tammy baldwin does raising tariffs. does he support all the union leaders we've heard from tonight making car checks, making it stronger and easier to recruit. there are basic programs that are sitting out there that have been debated for years. does he support, does he not. we're weirdly abstracted from that and weirdly abstracted from this current historical moment. we're in a long period of stagnation. what causes this stagnation? how long is it going to last? >> ifill: you expect that kind of conversation at a political convention.

>> i want somebody to,ing nays the -- recognize we're in a recession. >> woodruff: we were talking about governor patrick about that very subject. we asked what should the president do and he said well it's not necessarily legislation that's called forward at a time like this. there are other things. how do you take that. >> you need presidents to pass laws. when president obama ran he had a law, he had a healthcare law and he passed that law. this is normally what you do. this is the bill i'm going to put before congress. i'm going to work to get it passed. >> i disagree with david. if the president fames to do that thursday night -- fails to do that thursday night then i say he failed the fasting and the test. -- the fasting an task and the . this is a persuasive narrative that barack obama is at against a risk against private sector opposition took out the bailout of detroit and it worked and it is successful.

there are 1.1 million jobs that's a realistic and honest number. it is something we celebrate. and ironically the man who spoke at the convention last week that made the biggest slash, clint eastwood did probably the motion controversial statement about it at half time of america when he said our engines will come roaring back. and interesting we hear carl earlier in the program in the newshour, and he talked about imported from detroit. that story of chrysler. chrysler paid off its bailed loan from the federal government six years early. these are all successes. >> woodruff: here's my question about what we're watching. maybe it's about what happened at conventions but on the campaign trial, you just watch the ads you hear lots of conversations about bain and mitt romney's taxes. there had been glancing mentions in this campaign, this convention so far to mitt

romney's taxes and we just saw the biggest about mitt romney's history at bain. it feels like we're looking at the flip side of the sale christ but we're -- same conversation but we're not really having it. >> it points to the past. >> ifill: there's something different happening in the campaign trail than what's happening in this convention hall. >> it's a very different convention from 7:00 to 10:00 pm and 10:00 pm on. 7:00 pm are debates and the only people watching are hard core party members. >> ifill: like us. >> or some people are paid to do it. >> ifill: or just hard core. >> and it's when they talk to other people. >> trying to reach independentants and that's what they are trying to do tonight with former president clinton. >> that's what you don't do on the campaign trail is that caveat. i think mitt romney is a good man. he's not a bad man said the -- he does bad things.

>> he said he doesn't have a moral compass. >> but you wouldn't hear that at a campaign rally on the trail. >> we have a history here. george bush ran a compassionate -- he knew he had the conservatives so he did compassionate to get other people. bell clinton ran a different campaign because he knew he had the democrats, he had a more third-way message to try to get the other people. that's normally what you do. you move outside. we don't see that from either party. >> woodruff: david and mark what about the argument that things are so calculated today that the economy has changed, there's structural changes and the thing that need to be done are not just simple black and white things that you can just moot on a may and say one, two, threetwo -- put on paper and sa, two, three four. it's a battle to get it done and unrealistic to expect it to happen in a wild and crazy

presidential campaign. >> you can get 80% majority can do a lot of things. tax reform. most people agree with cutting loopholes and interest rates. most people agree with this sort of thing. education reform. this is pretty bipartisan. there are all these prostlesz that are proposals sitting out there. there's a program today eight thing that both parties agree on that would super charge our economy. i will bet 80% on a lot of these things. >> woodruff: you're saying the president could embrace those. is that what you're saying? talk about that some more. >> not just the president. whenever i hear it's difficult or complicated i return to the year of 1980 which scholars have said the president with one single six-year term was problems are so impossible that no pedestrian re-elected can deal with. followed by ronald reagan, he didn't get re-elected

overwhelmingly and would have won a third term with george wh bush. >> ifill: the young woman spoke who is the first time we ever had an undocumented immigrant speak from the floor on a political convention and she spoke on behalf of the dream act. >> really, it was very very species. >> woodruff: 27 years old. >> graduate at college of 20, a double major. i mean just a great great story. and the answer is she should self deport at this point. do we want her in this country. the other voice that was heard that we didn't address is sister simone campbell and she talked about the democrat's additional responsibility for those left out and left behind, what we owe to each other. i am my sister's keeper, i'm my brother's keeper. these are the nuns who have been

involved and chastised by the bishops. they want to take care of the powerless, run the shelters, run the soup kitchens and any popularity contest in the catholic church i tell you will beat the bishop as 5-1. >> they did a bus tour around the country criticizing the ryan budget plan because they said it was unfair to poor people. >> that's exactly right. and so did the bishops to get credit, they failed -- are the priorities -- >> ifill: we can confirm something by the way that's been rumored that's making it's way around this hall for the last hour or so is that indeed barack obama is coming to the hall tonight and he's going to watch the bill clinton seat so that will be an interesting moment. for now we're going to go back to the floor because we'll hear from georgetown law student how

the republicans wouldn't allow her to testify about access to birth control caused quite a stir and of course earned her a place at the podium tonight. sandra fluke. [crowd cheering] >> some of you, some of you may remember that earlier this year, republicans shut me out of a hearing on contraception. in fact, on that panel, they didn't hear from a single woman [crowd booing] even though they were debating an issue that affects nearly every woman. because it happened in congress, people noticed. but it happens all the time. noom women are shut out and silenced. so while i'm honored to be

standing at this podium, it easily could have been any one of you. i'm here because i spoke out. [crowd cheering] and this november, each of us must speak out. during this campaign, we've heard about two profoundly different futures that could await women in this country. and how one of those futures looks like an obsolete relic of our past. warnings of our fortune are not distractions. they are not imagined. that future could become real. in that america. your new president could be a man who stands by when a public figure tries to silence a

private citizen with hateful slurs. [applause] a man who won't stand up to those slurs or to any of the extreme biggated voice big bigos own party. it would be an america in which you have a new vice president who cosponsored a bill that would allow pregnant women to die preventable deaths in our emergency room. an america in which states humiliate women by forcing us to endure invasive ultra sounds, that we don't want. and our doctors say that we don't need. an america in which access to birth control is controlled by people who will never use it. [ applause ]

an america in which politicians redefine rape and victims are victimized all over again. in which someone decides which domestic violence victim deserves access to services and which don't. we know what this america would look like. in a few short months that's the america that we could be but that's not the america that we should be and it's not who we are! [ cheering and applause ] we've also seen another america that we can choose, in that america we'd have the right to choose. [applause]

it's an america in which no one can charge us more than men for the exact same health insurance. in which no one can deny us affordable access to the cancer screenings that could save our lives. in which we decide when to start our family. an america in which our president when he hears that a young woman has been verbally attacked thinks of his daughters not his delegates or his donors. [ applause ] and in which our president stands with all women and strangers come together and reach out and lift her up. and then instead of trying to

silence her you invite me here. and you give me this microphone to amplify our voice. [ applause ] that's the difference. over the last six months i've seen what these two futures look like and six months from now we're all going to be living in one future or the other. but only one. a country where our president either has our backs or turns his back. a country that honors our foremothers by moving us forward or one that forces our general

operation to refight battle, is that they already won. [ applause ] a country where we mean it when we talk about personal freedom. or one where that freedom doesn't apply to our bodies or to our voices. we talk often about choice, well, ladies, and gentlemen, it's now time to choose. >> the georgetown law student who became a cause because she spoke up and challenged the policy that in effect said that contraceptives could not be covered by health care policy. if you are just joining us you're watch pbs "newshour"

special coverage of the 2012 democratic national convention. coming to the podium now, jim sinegal, c.e.o. of costco. >> i grew up in pittsburgh where my father worked. i graduated from the public high school, attended a community college and a state university. my first job was at a retail warehouse. then three decades ago a friend and i had a big idea for a small business. one that we would start in seattle, washington. [ applause ] a warehouse store that would provide our members with great products, low prices while treating our employees fairly. today our small company has been

blessed with success, huge success. i might say bulk success. costco is the fifth largest retailer in the u.s. and seventh largest in the world. [ applause ] in tampa last week we heard all about job creators. but at our company we recognize that job creation requires time and investment and commitment to the long term. it requires companies that grow not executive who reap and run. that's how we do our part to build an economy that lasts. autocrossco we've created over 116,000 american jobs -- [ applause ] and during the next 12

months we expect to add another 7,000. we're proud that costco pays the highest wages among our peers, that would provide benefit and health care packages that are second to none. and just as importantly that we've grown our business by promoting from within. so that we're not just giving costco people jobs we're empowering them to build careers and support middle class families. [ applause ] at costco we know a thing or two about what it takes for business to succeed. for a company to do well by its shareholders and do the right thing for its employees at the same time. we don't want one set of rules for ourselves and another for our employees.

we remember back what it's like to be an employee. that's why we want to be part of an economy built to last. some of my friends in corporate america say that they need a government that gets off the backs of businesses. and that's why many of them are supporting the opposition with donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars. but i think they have got it all wrong. business needs a president who has covered the backs of businesses, a president who understands what the private sector needs to succeed. a president who takes the long view and makes the tough decisions. and that's why i'm here tonight supporting president obama. [ cheering and applause ]

a president making an economy built to last. in order for companies like costco to invest, grow, hire and flourish the conditions have to be right. that requires something from all of us. and if you ask the innovative growth companies across the country they will tell you exactly what that something is. they will tell you, america needs to be a nation with the best education system so that workers can get the training they need to join or stay in the middle class. america also needs to be a nation that spurs research and innovation so that our products and industries of tomorrow are invented here at home. america needs to be a nation with an affordable energy of all kinds so companies can keep their costs down and their

production line comings and products moving. america also needs to be a nation with the safest, most efficient transportation system. so people and goods can connect with opportunities and markets. america needs to be a nation that pays down its debt in a balanced way so businesses have a predictable environment in which the plans to invest and trade. america needs to be a nation with a sensible immigration law. laws that are humane and practical. laws that help businesses retain qualified employees. and america needs to be a nation where everyone follows the same set of rules of the road. so that small businesses can compete with the big and so that

small businesses can become big. so that break-through ideas and hard work are rewarded more than speculation. stow that more start-ups succeed and fewer -- these are the investment that business want. these are the building blocks of president obama's plan for the future and that's why i'm proud to stand with him. [applause] three decades ago my business parter and i started a company, we sacrificed, we struggled, we risked our own money, we relied on ourselves, our initiatives, our enterprise, this in part is why our company succeeded. but here's the thing about costco story. we did not build our company in a vacuum. we built it in the greatest country on earth. [ cheering and applause ] we built our company in a place

where anyone can make it with hard work, a little luck and a little help from their neighbors and their country. i'm here tonight because costco's story is the american story. because it's a story that president obama is helping millions of dreamers and doers to write anew for themselves i'm here tonight because i believe he deserves four more years to help us write the next chapter. thank you very much. >> woodruff: at the beginning of the 10:00 hour we heard first from sandra of course very popular in this hall for standing up to conservative talk show host who gave her a hard time. and that was the c.e.o. of costco. now one of the bright lights and great hopes in the democratic party, elizabeth warren running for senate in massachusetts. elizabeth warren. [ applause ]

>> thank you. thank you. i'm elizabeth warren. and this is my first democratic convention. [ applause ] >> audience: warren! >> okay, enough. i never thought i'd run for the senate and i sure never dreamed that i'd be the warm-up act for president bill clinton. [ applause ]

he's an amazing man who has a good sense, married one of the coolest women on this planet. [ applause ] i want to give a special shout out to the massachusetts delegation. i'm counting on to you help me win and to help president obama win. i'm here tonight to talk about hard working people. people who get up early, stay up late, cook dinner and help out with homework. people who can be counseled on to help their kids, their parents, their neighbors and the lady down the street whose car broke down. people who work their hearts out that are up against the hard truth. the game is rigged against them. it wasn't always this way. like a lot of you i grew up in a family on the ragged edges of town, my daddy sold carpeting

and end up maintenance man. after his heart attack my mom worked at sears to hang on to our house. all three of my brothers served in the military. one was career, second good union job in construction. the third started a small business. me, i was waiting tables at 13 and married at 19. i graduated from public schools and taught elementary school. i have a wonderful husband, two great children and three beautiful grandchildren. and i'm grateful down to my toes for every opportunity that america gave me. this is a great country. [ applause ] i grew up in an america that invested in its kids and built a strong middle class that allowed

millions of children to rise from poverty and establish their lives. an america that created social security and medicare so that seniors could live with dignity. an america in which each generation built something solid so that the next generation could build something better. but now for many years our middle class has been chipped, squeezed and hammered. i talked to a construction worker i met from massachusetts who went nine months without finding work. talked to the head of a manufacturing company in franklin trying to protect jobs but worried about rising costs. talked to the student in worcester who worked hard to finish his degree and now he's drowning in debt. their fight is my fight and it's

barack obama's fight, too. [ applause ] people feel like the system is rigged against them and here's the painful part. they're right. the system is rigged. look around, oil companies guzzle down billions in profit, billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. and wall street c.e.o.s the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs still strut around congress, no shame, demanding favors and acting like we should thank them. does anyone here have a problem with that? [ cheering and applause ] well, i do, too.

i talked to small business owners all across massachusetts, and not one of them -- not one made big bucks from the risk that brought down our economy. i talked to nurses and programmers, sales people and firefighters, people who bust their tails every day and not one of them -- not one stashes their money in the cayman islands to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. [ cheering and applause ] these folks don't resent that someone else made more money. we're americans, we celebrate success. we just don't want the game to be rigged. we fought to level the playing field before. about a century ago when core

rose sieve ways threatened our economy, the american people came together under the leadership of teddy roosevelt and other progressives to bring our nation back from the brink. we started to take children out of factories and put them in schools. we began to give meaning to the word consumer protection. by making food and medicine safe. we gave the little guy the better chance by preventing the big guy from rigging the market. we turned adversity in to progress because that's what we do. [ applause ] americans are fighters. we're tough, resourceful and creative. and if we have the chance to fight on a level playing field where everyone pays a fair share and everyone has a real shot,

then no one -- no one can stop us. [ applause ] president obama gets it because he spent his life fighting for the middle class. and now he's fighting to level that playing field. because we know the economy doesn't grow from the top down but from the middle class out and the bottom up, that's how we decree tate jobs and reduce the debt. [ applause ] and mitt romney wants to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires but to middle class families hanging on think by fingernails, his plan will hammer them with a new tax hike of up to $2,000.

mitt romney wants to give billions in breaks to big corporations, but he and paul ryan would pulverize financial reform, vaporize obamacare. the republican vision is clear. i got mine, the rest of you are on your own. republicans say they don't believe in government. sure they do. they believe in government that helps themselves and their powerful friends. [ applause ] after all, mitt romney is the guy who said, corporations are people. no, governor romney, corporations are not people. people have hearts, they have

kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance, they live, they breathe and they die. [applause] that matters. that matters because we don't run this country for corporations, we run it for people. and that's why we need barack obama. [ cheering and applause ] after the financial crisis president obama knew that we had to clean up wall street. for years, families had been ripped by credit cards, fooled by student loans and cheated on mortgages. i had an idea for consumer financial protection agency to stop the rip-offs.

now the big banks sure didn't like it they marshaled one of the biggest lobbying forces on earth to destroy the agency before it ever saw the light of day. american families didn't have an army of lobbyists on our side. what we had was a president, president obama leading the way. and when the lobbyists were closing in for the kill, barack obama squared his shoulders, landed his feet and speed firm and that's how we won. [ applause ] by the way, just a few weeks ago that little agency caught one of the biggest credit card companies cheating its customers and made it give back every

penny it took plus millions ever dollars in fines. that's what happened when you have a president on the side of the middle class. [ applause ] president obama believes in a level playing field. he believes in a country where nobody gets a free ride or a golden parachute. a country where anyone who has a great idea and rolls up their sleeves, has a chance to build a business. and anyone who works hard, who builds the security and raise is family. president obama believes in a country where billionaires pay their taxes just like their secretaries do. [ applause ] and i can't believe i have to say this in 2012, a country where women get equal pay for equal work.

[ applause ] he believes in a country where everyone is held accountable, where no one can steal your purse on main street or your pension on wall street. [ applause ] president obama believes in a country where we invest in education, in roads and bridges and science and in the future. so we can create new opportunities so the next kids can make it big stand the kid after that and the kid after that. that's what president obama believes. and that's how we build the economy of the future. an economy with more jobs and less debt. we root it in fairness, we grow it with opportunity and we build

it together. [ applause ] i grew up in the methodist church and taught sunday school. and one of my favorite passages, scripture is inasmuch as ye have done it on to one of the least of these my breathren, ye have done it on to me. matthew 25:40. the passage teaches about god in each of us. that we are bound to each other and we are called to act. not to sit, not to wait but to act all of us together. senator ted kennedy understood that. four years ago he addressed our convention for the last time, he

said we have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a newer world. generation after generation americans have answered that call and now we are called again. we are called to restore opportunity for every american. we are called to give america's working families a fighting chance. we are called to build something solid so the next generation can build something better. so let me ask you, america, are you ready to answer this call? [ cheering and applause ] are you ready to work for good jobs and strong middle class. are you ready to work for a level playing field. are you ready to stoned another generation of americans that we

can build a better country and a newer world. joe biden is ready, barack obama is ready. i'm ready. you're ready. thank you. god bless america. >> woodruff: not an empty seat in the house in the time warner cable arena here in charlotte, north carolina. as massachusetts candidate elizabeth warren finishes her remarks to the delegates you can see them standing, cheering, waving. waving signs, we are getting close to the moment when former president bill clinton will speak. right now we're going to hear from the chair of the convention, the mayor of los angeles, antonio villaraigaso.

>> pursuant to our nominating rules, only one candidate is qualified to be the nominee of our party for president of the united states. our next speaker will place before you that nomination. ♪ >> unemployment in june was the highest in march of 1984 -- >> u.s. economy has been in a resection. >> ten million americans still officially unemployed. >> there is nothing wrong with america that cannot be cured by what is right with america. we believe that in -- we have

got to go beyond the brain dead politics in washington and give our people the kind of government they deserve, a government that works for them. after years of hard effort, the longest economic expansion in history. we proved that we could find a way to balance the budget and protect our values. >> we have lots of evidence that focus on the middle class get better results. i personally believe that if the american people give you the honor of serving, you should keep on doing it when you leave office. i set up this foundation so that i could pursue causes that i can still have an impact on as a private citizen. it is a results-oriented foundation committed for taking on the world's biggest challenges. my life has been a balance between fulfilling initiatives that i always wanted and

responding to things that come up. >> what should our shared values be? everybody counts. everybody deserves a chance. everybody's got a responsibility to fulfill. we all do better when we work together. >> he's helped to create a model for spread responsibility and collective action that all of us are going to be studying for a very long time. ♪ don't stop thinking about tomorrow ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome president bill clinton. [ cheering and applause ]

>> thank you very much. thank you. dell low democrats -- fellow democrats, we are here to nominate a president. [ applause ] and i've got one in mind. i want to nominate a man whose own life has known its fair

share of adversity and uncertainty. i want to nominate a man who ran for president to change the course of an already weak economy and then just six weeks before his election suffered greatest collapse since the great depression. a man who stopped the slide in to depression and put us on the long road to recovery. knowing all the while that no matter how many jobs that he saved or created there would still be millions more waiting. worried about feeding their own kids trying to keep their hopes alive. i want to nominate a man whose cool on the outside but who burns for america on the inside. [ applause ]

and i want a man who believes with no doubt that we can build a new american dream economy driven by innovation and creativity, by education and, yes, by cooperation. and by the way, after last night i want a man who had the good sense to marry michelle obama. [ applause ] i want barack obama to be the next president of the united states. and i proudly nominate him to be the standard bearer of the democratic party. [ cheering and applause ]

now folks, in tampa a few days ago we heard a lot of talk about how the president, the democrats don't really believe in free enterprise, how we want everybody to be dependent on the government. how bad we are for the economy, this republican narrative, alternative universe says that everyone of us in this room who amounts to anything we're all completely self centered. one of the greatest chairman the democratic party ever had, bob strauss, used to say that every politician wants every vote tore believe he was born in a log cabin he built himself.

but strauss admitted, it ain't so. we democrats, we think the country works better with a strong middle class, with real opportunities for poor folks to work their way in to it with relentless focus on the future with business and government actually working together to promote growth. and broadly shared prosperity, you see, we believe that we're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own! [ applause ] so, who's right? well, since 1961, for 52 years now, the republicans have held a

white house 28 years, to democrats 24. in those 52 years our private economy has produced 66 million private sector jobs. so what's the job score. republicans, 24 million, democrats 42. there's a reason for this. it turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics. why? because poverty, discrimination and ignorance restricts growth.

when you stifle human potential, when you don't invest in good ideas it doesn't cut off the people that are affected it hurts us all. we know that investments in education and scientific and technological research increase growth. they increase good jobs and they create new wealth for all the rest of us. now, if something i've noticed lately, you probably have, too. and it's this. maybe because i grew up in a different time. though i often disagree with republicans, i actually never learned to hate them the way the far right that now controls their party seems to hate our president and a lot of other democrats. that would be impossible for me because president eisenhower

sent federal troops to my own state to integrate little rock high school. built the interstate highway system. when i was governor i worked with president reagan in his white house on first round of welfare reform and with president george h.w. bourbon national education goals. i am actually very grateful if you saw what i do today i have to be grateful. you should be, too. that president george w. bush supported, stayed alive for millions of people. and i have been honored to work with both presidents bourbon national disasters and aftermath of the south asian tsunami, hurricane katrina, the horrible earthquake in haiti. through my foundation both in america and around the world i'm working all the time with democrats, republicans and

independents. sometimes i couldn't tell you for the life who i'm working with because we focus on the other problems and seizing opportunities and thought fighting all the time. [applause] so, here is what i want to say to you. here is what i want the people at home to think about. when times are tough and people are frustrated and angry and hurting and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may be good. but what if good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. what works in the real world is cooperation. what works in the real world is cooperation. businesses and governments, foundations and universities, ask the mayors who are here.

los angeles is getting green and getting infrastructure because democrats and republicans together are working together. they didn't check their brains at the door they didn't stop disagreeing but their purposes was to get something dong. now, why is this true? why does cooperation work better than constant constrict because nobody is right all the time and a broken clock is right twice a day. and everyone of us and everyone of them we're compelled to spend our fleeting lives between those two extremes knowing we're never going to be right all the time and hopefully we're right more than twice a day. unfortunately the faction that now dominates the republican party doesn't see it that way. they think government is always the enemy, they're always right and compromise is weakness. just in the last couple of

elections they defeated two distinguished republican senators because they dared to cooperate with democrats on issues important to the future of the country even national security. they need republican congressman with 100% voting record on every conservative score because he said he realized he did not have to hate the president to disagree with him. boy, that was a nonstarter they threw him out. one of the main reasons we ought to re-elect president obama is that he is still committed to constructive cooperation. look at his record. look at his record. he appointed republican secretaries of defense, the army and transportation. he appointed a vice president who ran against him in 2008 and he trusted that vice president

to oversee the successful end of the war in iraq and the implementation of the recovery act. [ applause ] and joe biden did a great job with both. president obama appointed several members of his cabinet even though they supported hilary in the primary. heck, he even appointed hilary. [ applause ]

i am very proud of her, i am proud of the job she and the national security team have done for america. i am grateful that they have worked together to make us safer and stronger to build a world with more partners and fewer enemies. i am grateful for the relationship of respect and partnership she and the president have enjoyed and the signal that sends to the rest of the world that democracy have to be a blood sport it can be an honorable enterprise that advances the public interest. [ applause ]

besides the national security team i am very grateful to the men and women who have served our country in uniform through those perilous times. and i am especially grateful to michelle obama and joe biden for supporting those military families while their loved ones were overseas. and for supporting our veterans when they came home, they come home bearing the wounds of war or needing help to find education or jobs or housing. president obama's whole record on national security is a tribute to his strength, to his judgment and to his preference for inclusion and partnership over partisanship. we need more of it in washington d.c. [applause] now, we all nona he also tried

to work with congressional republicans on health care, debt reduction and new jobs. and that didn't work out so well. but it could have been because as the senate republican leader said in a remarkable moment of candor, two full years before the election, their number one priority was not to put america back to work, it was to put the president out of work. well -- wait a minute. i hate to break it to you, but we're going to keep president obama on the job. [ applause ] were you ready for that? are you willing to work for it?

in tampa -- did y'all watch the convention? i did. in tampa the republican argument against the president re-election was actually pretty simple. pretty snappy. it went something like this. we left him a total mess, he hadn't cleaned it up fast enough so fire him and put us back in. [ applause ] but they did it well. they look good, sounded good. they convinced me that they all love their families and their children and grateful they have

been born in america, really, i'm not -- they d. and this is important. they convinced me they were honorable people who believe what they have said and they're going to keep every commitment we make. we just have to make sure we know what those commitments are. because in order to look like an acceptable, reasonable mad rat alternative to president obama, they just didn't say very much about the ideas they have offered over the last two years. they couldn't. because they want to go back to the same old politic, is that got us in trouble in the first place. they want to cut taxes for high income americans, even more than president bush did. they want to get rid of those pesky financial regulations designed to prevent another crash and prohibit future bail outs. they want to actually decrease defense spending over a decade $2 trillion than the pentagon has requested.

without saying what they will spend it on. and they want to make enormous cuts in the rest of the budget especially programs that help the middle class and poor children. as another president once said, there they go again. [ applause ] i like the argument for president obama's re-election a lot better. here it is. he inherited a deeply damaged economy. he put a floor under the crash, he began the long hard road to recovery and laid the foundation for a modern, more well balanced economy that will produce millions of good new jobs, vibrant new businesses and lots of new wealth for innovators.

now, are we where we want to be today? no. is the president satisfied? of course not. but are we better off than we were when he took office? listen to this. [ applause ] everybody is -- when president barack obama took office the economy was in free fall, it shrunk nine full percent of gdp we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. are we doing better than that today? the answer is, yes. now, look, here's the challenge he phase and challenge all of you who support him face. i get it, i know it, i've been

there. a lot of americans are still angry and frustrated about this economy. if you look at the numbers you know employment is growing, banks are beginning to lend again. in a lot of places housing prices begin to pick up. but too many people do not feel it yet. i had the same thing happen in 1994 and early '95. we could see that the policies were working, that the economy was growing, but most people didn't feel it yet. thankfully by 1996 the economy was roaring, everybody felt it and we were half way through the longest peace time expansion in the history of the united states. but the difference this time is purely in the circumstances. president obama started with a much weaker economy than i did.

listen to me now. no president -- no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years. [ applause ] but he has laid the foundation for a new modern successful economy. a shared prosperity and if you will renew the president's contract, you will feel it. you will feel it. folks, whether the american people believe what i just said or not, i just want you to know

that i believe it. with all my heart, i believe it. [ applause ] nowy do i believe it? i'm fixin' to tell you why. i believe it because president obama's approach embodies the value, the ideas and the direction america has to take to build the 21st century version of the american dream, a nation of shared opportunities, shared responsibilities, shared prosperity, a shared sense of community. let's get back to the story. in 2010 as the president's recovery program kicked in, the job losses stopped and things began to turn around. the recovery act saved or created millions of jobs and cut taxes, say this again, cut taxes for 95% of the american people.

then in the last 29 months, our economy has produced about 4.5 million private sector jobs. we could have done better but last year the republicans blocked the president's job plan costing the economy more than a million new jobs. so here's another job score. president obama plus 4.5 million. congressional republicans, zero. [ applause ] during this period more than 500,000 manufacturing jobs have been created under pad obama that's first time manufacturing jobs have increased since the 1990s. and i'll tell you something else, the auto industry

restructuring worked. it saved more than a million jobs and not just at g.m., chrysler and their dealerships. but in auto parts manufacturing all over the country. that's why even the auto makers who weren't part of the deal supported it. they needed to save those parts supplier, too, like i said, we're all in this together. so what's happened. there are now 250,000 more people working in the auto industry than on the day the companies were restructured. [ applause ] now we all know that governor romney opposed the plan to save g.m. and chrysler. here's another job score, are

you listening, michigan and ohio and across the country? here's another job score. obama 250,000. romney zero. [ applause ] now, the agreement the administration made with the management to double car mileage that was a good deal, too, it will cut your gas prices in half. your gas bill. no matter what the price is, if you double mileage of your car your bill will be half what it would have been. make it more energy independent, cut greenhouse gas emissions and according to several analyses over the next 20 years it will bring us another half a billion good new jobs in to the american economy.